Low supply keeps sugar prices high

Global sugar prices hit 29-year highs in February as bad weather reduced output in Brazil and India, the world’s largest producers. Global prices retreated in March as the supply situation improved, but U.S. prices remain high. After a multiyear run in the low-20-cents-per-pound range, U.S. sugar futures on the Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, doubled to 41 cents in February. Even though U.S. prices have dropped to the 30-cent range, they still remain almost double world prices.